Cyprus Head Tries to Rally Support

By

Alkman Granitsas,

Michalis Persianis and

Stelios Bouras

Updated March 18, 2013 6:09 a.m. ET

NICOSIA, Cyprus—Cypriot leaders on Sunday raced to prevent a meltdown in the island's financial sector as the country's newly elected president warned of an impending bank collapse and disorderly exit from the euro zone.

In a dramatic address to the nation, President Nicos Anastasiades called for political backing for a bank-deposit levy that Cyprus must impose in exchange for a €10 billion ($13.07 billion) bailout from its euro-zone...